Search

Background and Objective: Traditional methods of medical education, despite being easy to implement, do not have long-lasting efficiency. The main aim of this study is to use the help of the learners to teach parts of the medical pharmacology course using role-playing pedagogy. This was done for the first time in Babol University of Medical Sciences with the cooperation of medical students who entered the university in 2016. Methods: Students were divided into 5 groups and a group leader was introduced for each group. Five topics were selected and corresponding scenarios were written. There were three to seven people in each group. The physician together with the hypothetical resident or student examined the patient's problems and prescribed medicine and gave them the necessary recommendations. All participants were given a pre-test and a post-test, and then the findings were statistically analyzed. Findings: 101 students (49 girls and 52 boys) with a mean age of 21.43±1.14 years participated in the study. Except for the topic of poisoning, the mean difference in pre- and post-test scores of female students was lower than that of male students. For example, this difference was observed in the topic of Parkinsonism (p<0.0001). All students involved in the performance obtained better grades in the same topics compared to other students (88.15 vs. 59.71 out of 100). 74% of female students and 79% of male students expressed satisfaction with the implementation of this method. Conclusion: According to the findings, this method has increased the motivation to learn the medical pharmacology course and stabilize the course topics. Therefore, its implementation in difficult courses with diverse and voluminous content not only helps them to learn better, but also helps them maintain their enthusiasm and increase motivation to learn more and consolidate what they have learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water pollution, particularly from industrial contaminants such as dyes, is a significant global concern. Various technologies, including nanoscale materials, are employed for water and wastewater treatment. Among these, adsorption process as an effective method due to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. This study comprised both theoretical and experimental phases. Initially, computer simulations were utilized to evaluate the interaction between methylene blue and three selected nanoparticles, ultimately choosing Bovine Serum Albumin protein nanoadsorbent based on energy considerations. Subsequently, adsorption experiments were conducted using this nanosorbent. The results indicated a maximum dye removal efficiency of 69% under the conditions of pH 11, an initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, an adsorbent dose of 0.5 g/L, a contact time of 60 min, and an optimal temperature of 25 °C. The maximum adsorption capacity under optimal conditions was found to be 38.52 mg/g. Additionally, the adsorption isotherm followed the Langmuir equation, and the kinetics adhered to the pseudo-second-order model., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

UV/sulfite-based advanced reduction processes (ARP) have attracted increasing attention due to their high capability for removing a wide range of pollutants. Therefore, developing UV/sulfite ARP systems with assisted Artificial Intelligence (AI) models is considered an efficient strategy for sustainable pollutant removal. The present study delves into modeling and optimizing photodegradation of tetracycline (TC) antibiotics under UV/sulfite/рhenol reԁuсtion рroсess (UV/SPAP) using integrаteԁ Artifiсiаl Neurаl Networks (ANN), Suррort Veсtor Regression (SVR), аnԁ Genetiс Algorithm (GA). The сonсentrаtions of рhenol (X 1 ) аnԁ sulfite (X 2 ), рH (X 3 ), reасtion time (X 4 ), аnԁ TC сonсentrаtion (X 5 ) in our exрerimentаl setuр were varied, аnԁ use the generаteԁ ԁаtа to trаin AI moԁels. The findings revealed that the AI-optimized performance is very effective in predicting and optimizing the removal of TC, thereby providing a sustainable water treatment approach. In general, SVR performed better based on scaling coefficients and ANN using different criteria indicated that X4 and X5 parameters were statistically significant. Oрtimаl rаnges for X 1 , X 2 , X 3 , X 4 , аnԁ X 5 аre ԁetermineԁ to be 6.34, 3, 8.45, 80.13, аnԁ 1, resрeсtively. This аррroасh highlights the imрortаnсe of integrаting AI аnԁ ARP for sustаinаble environmentаl mаnаgement., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Addressing the urgent need to effectively manage landfill leachate as a harmful flow for human health and the environment, this research investigates how electrocoagulation (EC) processes could alleviate the pollution potential of leachate. So far, no experimental study has been carried out on reducing the leachate pollution index (LPI) under the EC process. For this purpose, in this novel research, the LPI was utilized as a key metric to evaluate the efficiency of the treatment process. Central Composite Design (CCD) as a subset of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to enhance the LPI parameters decreasing percentage. The data were analyzed by analysis of variance and multivariate regression and 3D plots assessed variable interactions. Under optimal conditions, it showed removal of 97.48 % for COD, 91.42 % for BOD 5 , 98.52 % for N-NH 3 , and 91.6 % for TDS. Significant reductions were observed in 94.81 % TKN, 87.20 %, 82.80 %, 96.66 %, and 99.28 %, 99.18 %, and 96.56 % for TKN, Cl - , CN - , As, Cr, Zn, and Ni, respectively. Moreover, the kinetics of COD removal indicated that it follows a first-order model. Thus, based on experimental results, the LPI of raw leachate decreased from 38.06 to 7.22 (81 % decrease) under the EC treatment method. The study indicated that the EC treatment method successfully reduced leachate pollution and met the leachate discharge standard., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Introduction: There is inequity in the provision of physical rehabilitation services for people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The Kidney BEAM trial evaluated the clinical value and cost effectiveness of a physical activity digital health intervention (DHI) in CKD., Methods: In a single-blind, 11 center, randomized controlled trial, 340 adult participants with CKD were randomly assigned to either the Kidney BEAM physical activity DHI or a waitlist control. This study assessed the difference in the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form 1.3 Mental Component Summary (KDQoL-SF1.3 MCS) between intervention and control groups at 6-months, and cost-effectiveness of the intervention., Results: At 6-months, there was a significant difference in mean adjusted change in KDQoL MCS score between Kidney BEAM and waitlist control (intention-to-treat adjusted mean: 5.9 [95% confidence interval, CI: 4.4-7.5] arbitrary units [AU], P  < 0.0001), and a 93% and 98% chance of the intervention being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of £20,000 and £30,000 per quality-adjusted life year gained., Conclusion: The Kidney BEAM physical activity DHI is a clinically valuable and cost-effective means to improve mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with CKD (trial registration no. NCT04872933)., (Crown Copyright © 2024 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the International Society of Nephrology.)

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) have contributed to increased workloads for clinicians. Ambient artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer potential solutions, aiming to streamline clinical documentation and alleviate cognitive strain on healthcare providers., Objective: To assess the clinical utility of an ambient AI tool in enhancing consultation experience and the completion of clinical documentation., Methods: Outpatient consultations were simulated with actors and clinicians, comparing the AI tool against standard EHR practices. Documentation was assessed by the Sheffield Assessment Instrument for Letters (SAIL). Clinician experience was measured through questionnaires and the NASA Task Load Index., Results: AI-produced documentation achieved higher SAIL scores, with consultations 26.3% shorter on average, without impacting patient interaction time. Clinicians reported an enhanced experience and reduced task load., Conclusions: The AI tool significantly improved documentation quality and operational efficiency in simulated consultations. Clinicians recognised its potential to improve note-taking processes, indicating promise for integration into healthcare practices., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Physicians.)

In this research, an upgraded and environmentally friendly process involving WO 3 /Co-ZIF nanocomposite was used for the removal of Cefixime from the aqueous solutions. Intelligent decision-making was employed using various models including Support Vector Regression (SVR), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Simulation Optimization Language for Visualized Excel Results (SOLVER), and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). SVR, ANN, and RSM models were used for modeling and predicting results, while GA and SOLVER models were employed to achieve the optimal conditions for Cefixime degradation. The primary goal of applying different models was to achieve the best conditions with high accuracy in Cefixime degradation. Based on R analysis, the quadratic factorial model in RSM was selected as the best model, and the regression coefficients obtained from it were used to evaluate the performance of artificial intelligence models. According to the quadratic factorial model, interactions between pH and time, pH and catalyst amount, as well as reaction time and catalyst amount were identified as the most significant factors in predicting results. In a comparison between the different models based on Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Coefficient of Determination (R 2 Score) indices, the SVR model was selected as the best model for the prediction of the results, with a higher R 2 Score (0.98), and lower MAE (1.54) and RMSE (3.91) compared to the ANN model. Both ANN and SVR models identified pH as the most important parameter in the prediction of the results. According to the Genetic Algorithm, interactions between the initial concentration of Cefixime with reaction time, as well as between the initial concentration of Cefixime and catalyst amount, had the greatest impact on selecting the optimal values. Using the Genetic Algorithm and SOLVER models, the optimum values for the initial concentration of Cefixime, pH, time, and catalyst amount were determined to be (6.14 mg L -1 , 3.13, 117.65 min, and 0.19 g L -1 ) and (5 mg L -1 , 3, 120 min, and 0.19 g L -1 ), respectively. Given the presented results, this research can contribute significantly to advancements in intelligent decision-making and optimization of the pollutant removal processes from the environment., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The cognitive load theory suggests that completing a task relies on the interplay between sensory input, working memory, and long-term memory. Cognitive overload occurs when the working memory's limited capacity is exceeded due to excessive information processing. In health care, clinicians face increasing cognitive load as the complexity of patient care has risen, leading to potential burnout. Electronic health records (EHRs) have become a common feature in modern health care, offering improved access to data and the ability to provide better patient care. They have been added to the electronic ecosystem alongside emails and other resources, such as guidelines and literature searches. Concerns have arisen in recent years that despite many benefits, the use of EHRs may lead to cognitive overload, which can impact the performance and well-being of clinicians. We aimed to review the impact of EHR use on cognitive load and how it correlates with physician burnout. Additionally, we wanted to identify potential strategies recommended in the literature that could be implemented to decrease the cognitive burden associated with the use of EHRs, with the goal of reducing clinician burnout. Using a comprehensive literature review on the topic, we have explored the link between EHR use, cognitive load, and burnout among health care professionals. We have also noted key factors that can help reduce EHR-related cognitive load, which may help reduce clinician burnout. The research findings suggest that inadequate efforts to present large amounts of clinical data to users in a manner that allows the user to control the cognitive burden in the EHR and the complexity of the user interfaces, thus adding more "work" to tasks, can lead to cognitive overload and burnout; this calls for strategies to mitigate these effects. Several factors, such as the presentation of information in the EHR, the specialty, the health care setting, and the time spent completing documentation and navigating systems, can contribute to this excess cognitive load and result in burnout. Potential strategies to mitigate this might include improving user interfaces, streamlining information, and reducing documentation burden requirements for clinicians. New technologies may facilitate these strategies. The review highlights the importance of addressing cognitive overload as one of the unintended consequences of EHR adoption and potential strategies for mitigation, identifying gaps in the current literature that require further exploration., (©Elham Asgari, Japsimar Kaur, Gani Nuredini, Jasmine Balloch, Andrew M Taylor, Neil Sebire, Robert Robinson, Catherine Peters, Shankar Sridharan, Dominic Pimenta. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (https://medinform.jmir.org), 12.04.2024.)

Background and Objectives: HSV-1 is known as a very contagious virus and the main cause of cold sores or fever blisters. Herein, the aqueous extract of Areca catechu L. was evaluated for its anti-HSV-1 activity, compared to the standard control (acyclovir). Also, the effect of extract on the expression of UL46 and US6 genes that accumulate late in viral infection, was studied., Materials and Methods: The aqueous extract was obtained by the maceration of powdered plant in boiling water. Its antiviral activity was evaluated on Vero cells infected with HSV-1 at different times: 2 h pre-infection, simultaneous infection, and 4 h post-infection, using MTT assay. The effect of extract on the expression of genes was investigated with quantitative real-time PCR., Results: The aqueous extract of A. catechu induced the inhibition of infection with the IC 50 value of 110.52 ± 1.36 μg/ml. Also, it reduced the expression of UL46 when it was added 2 h pre-infection at 100 μg/ml. Moreover, reduction of expression of US6 was observed at the same concentration when the extract was used simultaneously with the occurrence of infection and 4 h post-infection., Conclusion: A. catechu can be considered an essential element of natural-based anti-HSV-1 agents., (Copyright© 2024 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

The advent of rapid whole-genome sequencing has created new opportunities for computational prediction of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypes from genomic data. Both rule-based and machine learning (ML) approaches have been explored for this task, but systematic benchmarking is still needed. Here, we evaluated four state-of-the-art ML methods (Kover, PhenotypeSeeker, Seq2Geno2Pheno and Aytan-Aktug), an ML baseline and the rule-based ResFinder by training and testing each of them across 78 species-antibiotic datasets, using a rigorous benchmarking workflow that integrates three evaluation approaches, each paired with three distinct sample splitting methods. Our analysis revealed considerable variation in the performance across techniques and datasets. Whereas ML methods generally excelled for closely related strains, ResFinder excelled for handling divergent genomes. Overall, Kover most frequently ranked top among the ML approaches, followed by PhenotypeSeeker and Seq2Geno2Pheno. AMR phenotypes for antibiotic classes such as macrolides and sulfonamides were predicted with the highest accuracies. The quality of predictions varied substantially across species-antibiotic combinations, particularly for beta-lactams; across species, resistance phenotyping of the beta-lactams compound, aztreonam, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cefoxitin, ceftazidime and piperacillin/tazobactam, alongside tetracyclines demonstrated more variable performance than the other benchmarked antibiotics. By organism, Campylobacter jejuni and Enterococcus faecium phenotypes were more robustly predicted than those of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In addition, our study provides software recommendations for each species-antibiotic combination. It furthermore highlights the need for optimization for robust clinical applications, particularly for strains that diverge substantially from those used for training., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are one of the growing air pollutants in industrial countries, and their emissions are regulated by stringent legislation. Therefore, the design of the catalyst comprised of metal oxides and ZIFs a potential solution for improving selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx. Here, an efficient strategy was described to fabricate Co-ZIF/WO 3 heterostructures for SCR of NOx. First, WO 3 nanostructures were fabricated by the solvothermal method, and subsequently epitaxial growth of ZIF-67 on the metal oxide surface to create a new type of semiconductor Co-ZIF/WO 3 heterostructures. The obtained heterostructures were systemically characterized by wide-angle XRD, FESEM, UV DRS, FT-IR, AFM, and TEM spectroscopies. The Co-ZIF/WO 3 heterostructures shift the temperature corresponding to the maximum conversion around 50 °C towards lower temperatures. The maximum conversion is substantially enhanced from 55% at 400 °C to 78% at 350 °C. The enhanced activity is attributed to better interaction and synergic effect of WO 3 incorporated into ZIF-67 and also the electron transfer facility between the WO 3 and Co species in Co-ZIF/WO 3 heterostructures. Moreover, Co-ZIF/WO 3 results in a distinct effect on the production of carbon monoxide (CO) in the product gas stream. The current study highlights some of the challenges in the development of semiconductor-based heterostructures for a decrease in air pollution., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This trial assessed the feasibility and acceptability of Kidney BEAM, a physical activity and emotional well-being self-management digital health intervention (DHI) for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which offers live and on-demand physical activity sessions, educational blogs and videos, and peer support. In this mixed-methods, multicentre randomised waitlist-controlled internal pilot, adults with established CKD were recruited from five NHS hospitals and randomised 1:1 to Kidney BEAM or waitlist control. Feasibility outcomes were based upon a priori progression criteria. Acceptability was primarily explored via individual semi-structured interviews (n = 15). Of 763 individuals screened, n = 519 (68%, 95% CI 65 to 71%) were eligible. Of those eligible, n = 303 (58%, 95% CI 54-63%) did not respond to an invitation to participate by the end of the pilot period. Of the 216 responders, 50 (23%, 95% CI 18-29%) consented. Of the 42 randomised, n = 22 (10 (45%) male; 49 ± 16 years; 14 (64%) White British) were allocated to Kidney BEAM and n = 20 (12 (55%) male; 56 ± 11 years; 15 (68%) White British) to the waitlist control group. Overall, n = 15 (30%, 95% CI 18-45%) withdrew during the pilot phase. Participants completed a median of 14 (IQR 5-21) sessions. At baseline, 90-100% of outcome data (patient reported outcome measures and a remotely conducted physical function test) were completed and 62-83% completed at 12 weeks follow-up. Interview data revealed that remote trial procedures were acceptable. Participants' reported that Kidney BEAM increased their opportunity and motivation to be physically active, however, lack of time remained an ongoing barrier to engagement with the DHI. An randomised controlled trial of Kidney BEAM is feasible and acceptable, with adaptations to increase recruitment, retention and engagement.Trial registration NCT04872933. Date of first registration 05/05/2021., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The British Transplantation Society (BTS) 'Guideline on transplantation from deceased donors after circulatory death' has recently been updated and this manuscript summarises the relevant recommendations in abdominal organ transplantation from Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) donors, encompassing the chapters on liver, kidney, pancreas and islet cell transplantation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None declared., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The British Transplantation Society (BTS) 'Guideline on transplantation from deceased donors after circulatory death' has recently been updated and this manuscript summarises the relevant recommendations from chapters specifically related to law, ethics, donor consent and informing the recipient., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Remote digital health interventions to enhance physical activity provide a potential solution to improve the sedentary behaviour, physical inactivity, and poor health-related quality of life that are typical of chronic conditions, particularly for people with chronic kidney disease. However, there is a need for high-quality evidence to support implementation in clinical practice. The Kidney BEAM trial evaluated the clinical effect of a 12-week physical activity digital health intervention on health-related quality of life., Methods: In a single-blind, randomised controlled trial conducted at 11 centres in the UK, adult participants (aged ≥18 years) with chronic kidney disease were recruited and randomly assigned (1:1) to the Kidney BEAM physical activity digital health intervention or a waiting list control group. Randomisation was performed with a web-based system, in randomly permuted blocks of six. Outcome assessors were masked to treatment allocation. The primary outcome was the difference in the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form version 1.3 Mental Component Summary (KDQoL-SF1.3 MCS) between baseline and 12 weeks. The trial was powered to detect a clinically meaningful difference of 3 arbitrary units (AU) in KDQoL-SF1.3 MCS. Outcomes were analysed by an intention-to-treat approach using an analysis of covariance model, with baseline measures and age as covariates. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04872933., Findings: Between May 6, 2021, and Oct 30, 2022, 1102 individuals were assessed for eligibility, of whom 340 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to the Kidney BEAM intervention group (n=173) or the waiting list control group (n=167). 268 participants completed the trial (112 in the Kidney BEAM group and 156 in the waiting list control group). All 340 randomly assigned participants were included in the intention-to treat population. At 12 weeks, there was a significant improvement in KDQoL-SF.13 MCS score in the Kidney BEAM group (from mean 44·6 AU [SD 10·8] at baseline to 47·0 AU [10·6] at 12 weeks) compared with the waiting list control group (from 46·1 AU [10·5] to 45·0 AU [10·1]; between-group difference of 3·1 AU [95% CI 1·8-4·4]; p<0·0001)., Interpretation: The Kidney BEAM physical activity platform is an efficacious digital health intervention to improve mental health-related quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease. These findings could facilitate the incorporation of remote digital health interventions into clinical practice and offer a potential intervention worthy of investigation in other chronic conditions., Funding: Kidney Research UK., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests King's College Hospital NHS Trust and SAG were involved in the conception and development of Kidney BEAM. SB is a trustee of Kidney Research UK. DCW has an ongoing consultancy contract with AstraZeneca and has received honoraria or consultancy fees from Astellas, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Eledon, Galderma, GlaxoSmithKline, Gilead, Janssen, Mundipharma, ProKidney, Tricida, Vifor, and Zydus for activities related to education and clinical trials. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Rationale & Objective: Cross-sectional studies have reported an association of chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) with adverse clinical events and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). We studied the longitudinal associations between changes in CKD-aP and clinical outcomes among patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis., Study Design: Prospective cohort study., Setting & Participants: 7,976 hemodialysis recipients across 21 countries in phases 4-6 (2009-2018) of the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) who had 2 CKD-aP assessments approximately 12 months apart., Exposures: Exposure status was based on the assessment of pruritis initially and again approximately 1 year later. Four groups were identified, including those with moderate or more severe pruritis only at the initial assessment (resolved), only at the second assessment (incident), at neither assessment (absent), or at both assessments (persistent)., Outcomes: Laboratory values and PROs ascertained at the initial assessment of pruritis and 1 year later., Analytical Approach: Linear mixed model to investigate changes in laboratory values and PROs over the 1-year study period across the 4 exposure groups., Results: 51% of patients had moderate to severe CKD-aP symptoms at either assessment (22% at both). The prevalences of depression, restless sleep, and feeling drained increased over the study period (+13%,+10%, and+14%, respectively) among patients with incident pruritus and decreased (-5%, -8%, and -12%, respectively) among patients with resolved pruritus. Minimal changes in PROs over time were observed for the absent and persistent groups. Changes over time in laboratory values (phosphorus, Kt/V) were not detected for either of these groups. Compared with patients with absent CKD-aP, the adjusted HRs for patients with persistent CKD-aP were 1.29 (95% CI, 1.09-1.53) for all-cause mortality, 1.17 (1.07-1.28) for all-cause hospitalization, and 1.48 (1.26-1.74) for cardiovascular events., Limitations: No interim evaluation of CKD-aP symptoms between the 2 assessments; potential selection bias from patients who died or were otherwise lost to follow-up before the second assessment., Conclusions: CKD-aP symptoms are chronic, and these findings highlight the potential value of repeated assessment of this symptom using standardized approaches. Future research should systematically investigate potential causes of CKD-aP and options for its effective treatment., Plain-Language Summary: Previous research has studied itching and its consequences in hemodialysis recipients only at a single time point. We surveyed 7,976 patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis to assess itching over a period of 1 year. We found that, among those experiencing itching at the initial assessment, more than half had persistent symptoms 1 year later. Those in whom itching developed during follow-up were more likely to experience depression, poor sleep, long recovery times after dialysis, and feeling faint or drained. These patients also rated their quality of life as poorer than those who did not experience itching. These findings emphasize the potential value of clinical detection of itching and the pursuit of effective treatments for patients receiving dialysis experiencing these symptoms., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recipient outcomes after transplantation with organs from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors can compare favourably and even match recipient outcomes after transplantation with organs from donation after brain death donors. Success is dependent upon establishing common practices and accepted protocols that allow the safe sharing of DCD organs and maximise the use of the DCD donor pool. The British Transplantation Society 'Guideline on transplantation from deceased donors after circulatory death' has recently been updated. This manuscript summarises the relevant recommendations from chapters specifically related to organ donation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Maximising organ utilisation from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors could help meet some of the shortfall in organ supply, but it represents a major challenge, particularly as organ donors and transplant recipients become older and more medically complex over time. Success is dependent upon establishing common practices and accepted protocols that allow the safe sharing of DCD organs and maximise the use of the DCD donor pool. The British Transplantation Society 'Guideline on transplantation from deceased donors after circulatory death' has recently been updated. This manuscript summarises the relevant recommendations from chapters specifically related to transplantation of cardiothoracic organs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are often iron deficient, even when not anemic. This trial evaluated whether iron supplementation enhances exercise capacity of nonanemic patients with CKD who have iron-deficiency., Methods: Prospective, multicenter double-blind randomized controlled trial of nondialysis patients with CKD and iron-deficiency but without anemia (Hemoglobin [Hb] >110 g/l). Patients were assigned 1:1 to intravenous (IV) iron therapy, or placebo. An 8-week exercise program commenced at week 4. The primary outcome was the mean between-group difference in 6-minute walk test (6MWT) at 4 weeks. Secondary outcomes included 6MWT at 12 weeks, transferrin saturation (TSAT), serum ferritin (SF), Hb, renal function, muscle strength, functional capacity, quality of life, and adverse events at baseline, 4 weeks, and at 12 weeks. Mean between-group differences were analyzed using analysis of covariance models., Results: Among 75 randomized patients, mean (SD) age for iron therapy ( n  = 37) versus placebo ( n  = 38) was 54 (16) versus 61 (12) years; estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (34 [12] vs. 35 [11] ml/min per 1.73 m 2 ], TSAT (23 [12] vs. 21 [6])%; SF (57 [64] vs. 62 [33]) μg/l; Hb (122.4 [9.2] vs. 127 [13.2] g/l); 6MWT (384 [95] vs. 469 [142] meters) at baseline, respectively. No significant mean between-group difference was observed in 6MWT distance at 4 weeks. There were significant increases in SF and TSAT at 4 and 12 weeks ( P  < 0.02), and Hb at 12 weeks ( P  = 0.009). There were no between-group differences in other secondary outcomes and no adverse events attributable to iron therapy., Conclusion: This trial did not demonstrate beneficial effects of IV iron therapy on exercise capacity at 4 weeks. A larger study is needed to confirm if IV iron is beneficial in nondialysis patients with CKD who are iron-deficient., (© 2023 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Motivation: Gene annotation is the problem of mapping proteins to their functions represented as Gene Ontology (GO) terms, typically inferred based on the primary sequences. Gene annotation is a multi-label multi-class classification problem, which has generated growing interest for its uses in the characterization of millions of proteins with unknown functions. However, there is no standard GO dataset used for benchmarking the newly developed new machine learning models within the bioinformatics community. Thus, the significance of improvements for these models remains unclear., Results: The Gene Benchmarking database is the first effort to provide an easy-to-use and configurable hub for the learning and evaluation of gene annotation models. It provides easy access to pre-specified datasets and takes the non-trivial steps of preprocessing and filtering all data according to custom presets using a web interface. The GO bench web application can also be used to evaluate and display any trained model on leaderboards for annotation tasks., Availability and Implementation: The GO Benchmarking dataset is freely available at www.gobench.org. Code is hosted at github.com/mofradlab, with repositories for website code, core utilities and examples of usage (Supplementary Section S.7)., Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.)

This study was aimed to investigate the synergistic effect of sulfite reducing agent on the UV/hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) photocatalytic process performance in the removal of ciprofloxacin from the aqueous solutions. For this purpose, influence of the operation parameters including initial antibiotic concentration, pH, sulfite to hematite molar ratio and the reaction time on the UV/hematite/sulfite (UHS) performance was evaluated. UV alone, UV/hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) (UH) and UV/sulfite (US) processes indicated to have little influence on the ciprofloxacin degradation. The simultaneous presence of hematite and sulfite in the reaction environment was significantly improved the degradation efficiency, as UHS process indicated an increase of 89%, 64% and 59% in the removal performance than that of UV alone, UH and US processes, respectively. Under the selected condition (pH of 7.0 and sulfite/hematite molar ratio of 1:3), 94% of ciprofloxacin (CFX) was degraded after 5 min of reaction. In addition, r obs ( mg L -1 min) value for UHS process was 25.26, 6 and 4.8 times that of UV alone, UH and US processes, respectively. The EEO and TCS values for UV alone, US, UH and UHS processes were (44.21 kWh/m -3 and 2.08 $ m -3 ), (10.5 kWh/m -3 and 1.1 $ m -3 ), (4.8 kWh/m -3 and 1.04 $ m -3 ) and (1.75 kWh/m -3 and 0.85 $ m -3 ), respectively. In addition, the study of the reaction mechanism showed hydroxyl and sulfate radicals play a vital role in the degradation of CFX by UHS process.

Creating a complex balance between dietary composition, circadian rhythm, and the hemostasis control of energy is important for managing diseases. Therefore, we aimed to determine the interaction between cryptochrome circadian clocks 1 polymorphism and energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DII) on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in women with central obesity. This cross-sectional study recruited 220 Iranian women aged 18-45 with central obesity. The 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the dietary intakes, and the E-DII score was calculated. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were determined. By polymerase chain response-restricted length polymorphism method, cryptochrome circadian clocks 1 polymorphism was assigned. Participants were categorized into three groups based on the E-DII score, then categorized according to cryptochrome circadian clocks 1 genotypes. The mean and standard deviation of age, BMI, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were 35.61 ± 9.57 years, 30.97 ± 4.16 kg/m 2 , and 4.82 ± 5.16 mg/dL, respectively. The interaction of the CG genotype and E-DII score had a significant association with higher hs-CRP level compared to GG genotype as the reference group (β, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.11-2.27; p value, 0.03). There was a marginally significant association between the interaction of the CC genotype and the E-DII score with higher hs-CRP level compared to the GG genotype as the reference group (β, 0.85; 95% CI, -0.15 to 1.86; p value, 0.05). There is probably positive interaction between CG, CC genotypes of cryptochrome circadian clocks 1, and E-DII score on the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level in women with central obesity., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest. We declare that none of the authors listed on the manuscript are employed by a government agency that has a primary function other than research and/or education. Also, we declare that none of the authors are submitting this manuscript as an official representative or on behalf of the government., (Copyright © 2023. The Korean Society of Clinical Nutrition.)

The current work is documented as the first record of the characteristics, removal efficiency, partitioning behavior, fate, and eco-toxicological effects of paraben congeners in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP, stabilization ponds) and hospital WWTPs (septic tank and activated sludge), as well as seawater-sediments collected from runoff estuarine stations (RES) and coastal stations (CS) of the north of the Persian Gulf. The median values of Σparabens at the raw wastewater and effluent of the studied WWTPs were 1884 ng/L and 468 ng/L, respectively. The activated sludge system had a greater removal efficiency (56.10%) in removing ∑parabens than the septic tank (45.05%) and stabilization pond (35.54%). The discharge rates of methyl paraben (MeP) was computed to be 2.23, 21.18, and 9.12 g/d/1000 people for stabilization ponds, septic tank, and activated sludge, respectively. Median concentrations of Σparabens in seawater (103.42 ng/L) and sediments (322.05 ng/g dw) from RES stations were significantly larger than from CS stations (61.2 and 262.0 ng/g dw in seawater and sediments, respectively) (P < 0.05). The median of field-based k oc for Σparabens was 130.81 cm 3 /g in RES stations and 189.51 cm 3 /g in CS stations. It was observed that the concentration of parabens could have negative impacts on some living aquatic populations (invertebrates and bacteria), but the risk was not significant for fishes and algae., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent for the disease COVID-19. To capture the IgA, IgG, and IgM antibody response of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 at individual epitope resolution, we constructed planar microarrays of 648 overlapping peptides that cover the four major structural proteins S(pike), N(ucleocapsid), M(embrane), and E(nvelope). The arrays were incubated with sera of 67 SARS-CoV-2 positive and 22 negative control samples. Specific responses to SARS-CoV-2 were detectable, and nine peptides were associated with a more severe course of the disease. A random forest model disclosed that antibody binding to 21 peptides, mostly localized in the S protein, was associated with higher neutralization values in cellular anti-SARS-CoV-2 assays. For antibodies addressing the N-terminus of M, or peptides close to the fusion region of S, protective effects were proven by antibody depletion and neutralization assays. The study pinpoints unusual viral binding epitopes that might be suited as vaccine candidates .

Diet and lifestyle as modifiable factors play an effective role in muscle strength and muscle endurance. In addition, inflammatory reactions may have an association with the etiology of a a lower muscle strength and muscle endurance. We aimed to investigate the association of dietary and lifestyle inflammation scores (DLIS) with muscle strength and muscle endurance in a sample of Iranian adults. In this cross-sectional study, 270 adults aged 20 to 59 years (55.9% female) were selected. The dietary intakes were collected using a 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The DLIS was calculated using the dietary inflammatory score (DIS), and lifestyle inflammatory score (LIS). Muscle endurance and muscle strength were measured by a digital-handgrip-dynamometer. Multivariate adjusted means for muscle strength and endurance across quartiles of the DIS, LIS, and DLIS were determined by the ANCOVA test. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between inflammation scores (i.e., DIS, LIS, and DLIS), and muscle strength, muscle endurance. The DLIS ranged between -2.94 and 3.09. The adjusted P-value of muscle strength of the right hand (MSR) along quartiles of DIS was significantly lower (P = 0.024). MSR (β: -1.19; P-value: 0.020) and mean muscle strength (MMS) (β: -0.95; P-value: 0.047) had significant association with DIS. MSR (β: -0.85; P-value: 0.050) had a marginally significant association with DLIS. Overall, we found that a high adherence to a pro-inflammatory diet might be associated to a lower muscle strength. However, a lifestyle with greater inflammatory potential was not related to any components of muscle endurance. Further studies with prospective designs are needed to confirm the present findings in further details., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Pretrained representations have recently gained attention in various machine learning applications. Nonetheless, the high computational costs associated with training these models have motivated alternative approaches for representation learning. Herein we introduce TripletProt, a new approach for protein representation learning based on the Siamese neural networks. Representation learning of biological entities which capture essential features can alleviate many of the challenges associated with supervised learning in bioinformatics. The most important distinction of our proposed method is relying on the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The computational cost of the generated representations for any potential application is significantly lower than comparable methods since the length of the representations is significantly smaller than that in other approaches. TripletProt offers great potentials for the protein informatics tasks and can be widely applied to similar tasks. We evaluate TripletProt comprehensively in protein functional annotation tasks including sub-cellular localization (14 categories) and gene ontology prediction (more than 2000 classes), which are both challenging multi-class, multi-label classification machine learning problems. We compare the performance of TripletProt with the state-of-the-art approaches including a recurrent language model-based approach (i.e., UniRep), as well as a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and sequence-based method (i.e., DeepGO). Our TripletProt showed an overall improvement of F1 score in the above mentioned comprehensive functional annotation tasks, solely relying on the PPI network. Availability: The source code and datasets are available at https://github.com/EsmaeilNourani/TripletProt.